A Night At First Stage, Milwaukee’s Children’s Theater

My dad and uncle spent years in the business of dinner theater.  I have always enjoyed seeing plays and have seen plenty of murder mysteries to last me a lifetime.  While seeing shows put on by my dad & uncle never cost me anything, going to a show outside that venue always seems to cost a small fortune when a small group or family attends.  A few years ago we started going to First Stage, Milwaukee Children’s Theater.  I had been there as a grade school aged kid but now I have a step daughter of that age and we decided that it would be a great activity for the family.  This is a great forum to bring children even if they are only 4 or 5 years old.  The theater is fairly small and intimate.  The action is always very close.  This is better in my opinion than sitting in the nose bleeds on Broadway in New York like I did a few years ago.  After going to a few First Stage shows we found that the seats in the middle and about 1/2 the way back are really the best for the money.  The play that is currently showing is A Neverending Story.  I must say that I was less than enthused by the plays title since I never liked the movie.  Once I was there watching though I was very happy with what I saw.  What a great adventure story brought to life on stage.  Once again First Stage exceeded my expectations.  This was not the first time this has happened.  We went on opening night and the playright actually in attendance and was introduced at the end.  This is something that is unique in my experience with theater.  Quite often at First Stage the author of the book the play was based on or the playwright is there on opening night.  Several times without knowing until after the show, I have found myself sitting in front of or behind the playwright or author.  I am not sure if they do it on other nights but on opening night they usually do a drawing with the ticket stubs and give away a copy of the book or something else related to the show.  My step daughter even won a basket on her birthday one time.  The unique theater experience does not end there.  After the show the cast comes out on stage and takes 3 or 4 questions from the children in the audience about the play or actors.  Usually it’s a question about one of the special effects or about the costumes or a question about the time line of things.  The real kicker is that on opening night the director invites the cast and all the audience to a reception at the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center down the street where dessert and beverage refreshments are served.  If the author is present they usually do a book signing as well.  Anyway, I can not say enough about the people at First Stage Children’s Theater.  If you are looking for a reasonably priced night out with the family this is definitely the venue to consider.  Let me know what your experience has been I would love to hear from you.

From the First Stage Website:  http://www.firststage.org

Synopsis: The Neverending Story

Imagination drives this story of Bastian, a young boy who steals the book The Neverending Story from a curmudgeonly store owner and becomes drawn into the book and the dying land of Fantastica. Once there, Bastian finds himself on a quest to save Fantastica and ultimately himself. Walking the fine line between reality and imagination, The Neverending Story is one that is unforgettable as well.

March 6 – April 5, 2009
Based upon the novel by Michael Ende
Adapted by David S. Craig

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